No social service cuts in Mayor Ed Lee’s upcoming budget, aides say

It was smiles all around when Mayor Ed Lee signed the budget in 2012. He will be rolling out his new two-year spending proposal on Friday after holding six town hall meetings to get public input. (Yue Wu / The Chronicle)

Mayor Ed Lee won’t be balancing his upcoming budget on the backs of low-income parents, AIDS patients or folks a mere stumble from being homeless.

While we don’t have all the details on the two-year spending plan – expected to top $7 billion annually – that Lee will present Friday to the Board of Supervisors, administration officials indicate there will be no cuts to social service programs, at least in the first year.

The budget will actually funnel more money into some programs losing federal and state dollars, including $1 million more for a “rapid re-housing” program that got federal stimulus money to give people at risk of becoming homeless legal assistance, short-term rental subsidies and eviction prevention help.

The city is also going to make up the difference in state cuts to programs that allow low-income, working parents “access to high-quality child care,” said Kate Howard, the mayor’s budget director.

The budget will also include an additional $4 million for HIV/AIDS health and prevention services to make up for federal cuts. The city lost almost $8 million in federal AIDS funding for the current fiscal year – the biggest one-time cut ever to the programs – and $10 million for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Lee restored $6.7 million in funding for local HIV and AIDS services in the first year, but it had been unclear what would happen in fiscal 2013-14.

“Preserving and protecting the social safety net is a big priority for the mayor,” Lee spokeswoman Christine Falvey said. “I don’t think there is really bad news for anybody (in the budget).”

The city will also be able to stave off — at least for one fiscal year — anticipated cuts to mental health and substance abuse treatment programs that earlier this year appeared likely as the Department of Public Health struggled to close a projected $153 million deficit for 2013-14.

While tax revenue has been increasing along with the improving economy, Lee still had a roughly $100 million deficit to fill citywide, according to the last official projections.

We’re still waiting for specifics on exactly how he’ll do that, but the once-contentious city budget process has been markedly mild over the last three budget seasons with Lee at the helm.